Harry didn’t sleep much that night, but the little sleep he had gotten had effectively gotten his mind off the prophecy. He woke up and got out of bed, looking around the room. Ron and Neville were still in bed. Seamus had just finished getting dressed. Dean had already left; Harry assumed he was already with Ginny.
“Morning Harry,” Seamus said. “Sleep alright?”
“Yeah,” Harry replied. “You?”
“I’m good. I was thinking about what Dean said on the train yesterday. Haven’t had a chance to ask him about it, have you? I mean, with the way he’s been attached to Ginny Weasley...”
“Not a chance, mate. But maybe we could catch him in the Great Hall, ask him about it at breakfast.”
“Alright, are you ready then?”
“Yeah, let’s go.”
They went downstairs, and to their surprise Ginny was sitting there with Hermione talking quietly over a stack of toast. They said a quick good morning to Harry and Seamus, then returned to their conversation.
Harry and Seamus sped up, eager to get to the Great Hall. If Ginny was with Hermione, then that left Dean alone; this would give them the opportunity to ask him what he meant when he had said Ron and Hermione were still avoiding ‘the truth’.
“So what do you think this is about?” Harry asked.
“Don’t know. But Dean seemed to think it was pretty funny, and I could do with a laugh these days...”
“I know how you feel.”
They entered the hall and sat down casually next to Dean, who, obviously missing his second half, was reading the new sixth year timetables. He handed a couple to Seamus and Harry muttered a sleepy good morning.
“So, why are you and Mrs. Thomas spending breakfast apart? Trouble in paradise?” Seamus joked.
“Shut up,” Dean retorted. “She came down here with me, but then Hermione wanted to talk alone, so she ran off.”
“Yeah we saw them. Lucky actually, because we were hoping that it would give us a chance to finish what we were talking about yesterday...”
“Yesterday?” Dean asked distractedly.
“Yeah, you know about Ron and Hermione.”
“Oh, that. Well that was nothing. Don’t worry about it.”
Harry knew this was a lie, because Dean was trying to hide his grin.
“Dean, just tell us. What “truth” is it that their avoiding?”
“Look, I told Ginny that you were all clueless, and she said that I shouldn’t say anything. If you figure it out yourselves, than that’s cool, but she doesn’t want to make Ron and Hermione uncomfortable by letting everyone in on it.”
“Oh, well if you’re going to choose your girlfriend over us,” said Seamus.
Harry thought he heard bitterness in his voice, which was understandable. Seamus was Dean’s best friend, but since school had started he had taken a back seat to Ginny.
“Look, it’s not about Ginny, it’s about Ron and Hermione “”
Harry stopped him.
“It’s fine, Dean, really. If Ginny thinks it’s better for their sake that we don’t know, then we should just stay out of it.”
Seamus nodded, still looking indignant, and sat down to look over his classes. Harry meant what he had said, but he couldn’t help but feel hurt. Ron and Hermione were his best friends, if something was going on with them, he felt like someone should tell him.
“Hey, we have Professor Lupin today,” Seamus said.
That brightened Harry up. He looked down at his schedule. He had Defense Against the Dark Arts, followed by Transfiguration and Charms. Then looking at the next day, his spirits immediately came crashing down: Double N.E.W.T.s Potions.
“What’s wrong, Harry “ you look like you just ate a cockroach cluster.”
It was Ron. Harry pointed at his schedule.
“Sorry, mate. But it was your choice to want to be an Auror.”
“You’re right, but still, it’s not like I’m going to look forward to it.”
Dean and Seamus, who had been sitting in uncomfortable silence, turned to Harry.
“You managed an O in Potions, Harry?” Seamus asked.
“Yeah, it was much easier without Snape breathing down my neck.”
The conversation then turned to who got what on which exams. They were soon joined by Hermione and Ginny, then Neville. It turned out Neville, Dean and Seamus, who had been in the DA, had gotten O’s in Defense Against the Dark Arts.
“Thanks to you of course, Harry.”
“No big deal.”
But then Hermione sat down next to him, and took Harry’s hand in hers.
“Don’t be so modest Harry,” she said, with admiration in her voice. “You were an excellent teacher. I wouldn’t doubt the other DA students all received O’s. I don’t think I could have learned nearly as much from a book.”
“Uh... thanks Hermione,” Harry replied, casually removing his hand from her grasp to pick up a goblet of pumpkin juice, which in honesty he had no real desire in drinking. He looked up at Ron, questioningly, only to discover that Ron seemed unnaturally busy eating toast and paying no attention whatsoever to anything Hermione had just said. Dean looked confused; Ginny was trying not to giggle, while Seamus and Neville were grinning at Hermione’s sudden admiration of Harry’s teaching abilities.
“Well we should be off to Lupin’s class,” Hermione stood up quickly. “Harry could you be a dear and hold my books while I fix my robes.” She looked at him adoringly.
“Um, sure...”
He waited a few moments while she adjusted her robes, then stood up and took the books from Harry’s arms, flashing him a huge smile.
“Thank you.”
For whatever reason, Ginny could no longer stop herself from laughing, and burst into fits of giggles. She then stopped suddenly, coughed and exclaimed, “Great joke, Dean,” before running off to her own class.
Dean looked even more confused, as he hadn’t said a thing.
Harry turned again to Ron, who was this time, looking dejectedly at his rather large feet. The Gryffindor sixth years than set off for class, and Harry still confused, looking for some kind of sign of recognition from Ron, followed silently after Hermione’s beckoning call.